Topic: asparagas?

[kitty]

can anyone enlighten me as to the mysteries of growing asparagas please?
i'd be grateful for any pointers.
kitty :)

[tim]

Mysteries??

Just go by the book. Or ask Victoriana Nursery. Or Google?

http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/1000/1603.html

[fred]

Asparagus is supposed to be difficult but is actually low maintenance after the initial set up

First you must have good drainage so I created a raised bed, filled it with an inch of gravel followed by an inch of manure and then topped the bed up with around 8 inches of soil (Just ensure its not clay)

Leave to firm up for a couple of weeks and then create a 5 inch trench with a ridge down the center and place the crown on the ridge with the roots to either side.

Cover up the crowns with an inch of soil and then top up gradually until the soil is level.

Finally cover the level soil with an inch of mushroom compost and leave the ferns to grow.

If you see any red and black asparagus beetle pinch them off, they can be deterred by companion planting with Calendula and Garlic, or treat with derris at first sign.

Do not pick any for the first year and then just the first spear in the second year.

Top up bed yearly with mushroom compost.

If the site is windy then support the spears to prevent root rock.

Good luck, Fred

[Debs]

Kitty,

If you use the 'search' facility at the top of the page, you will see that there have been lots of asparagus postings in recent months.

Debs

[kitty]

aha!thanks tim!
thorough fred!*kitty gulps and girds her loins*!
deb-i did that and nothing happened-i now see i spelt it wrong!tsk ::)
thanks for your help in this ...i shall go back over old posts now.....
kitty wanders off to also do spelling test.....
 ;D

[Moggle]

Sorry to hijack your thread kitty, but I too have an asparagus concern. I sowed some seeds of Jersey Knight a couple of weeks ago in a mini-greenhouse, and so far no shows at all  :'( :'( :'(
Do they like it cold or hot or are they just slow to germinate?  :-\

[tim]

http://www.chestnut-sw.com/seeds/vegseed/asparags.htm

[Moggle]

Cheers Tim, I think I am not too badly off then. They may not be constantly at that temp, so it might take a little bit longer. Can only hope that they still germinate.

[tim]

My wife grew them once!!

[aquilegia]

Mine neither Moggle.

I didn't soak before sowing. maybe that's the problem.

[Moggle]

Aqui, I did not soak them either, I re-read the packet this morning to see if I'd missed anything when sowing, and it mentions none of that. So if I get a 100% no-show I will be asking for a refund or replacement!

[tim]

Small - but very beautiful!!

[kitty]

perfectly formed!
i cant wait-mine are 1 year old crowns-are they in full production in their third year?
i have the patience......

[tim]

3rd year? - almost! But one month's cutting only.

In case someone misinterprets the photograph, the tall bits are last year's stems. The pinky bit is the bit I'm waiting for!